Gov’s name on earthquake relief bags stirs row
DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines—Bonjon Tan was distributing medicines at the evacuation site at Negros Oriental State University in Guihulngan City on Thursday when he saw a crowd milling about at the basketball court.
What caught his attention was not the policemen who were distributing relief goods to the victims of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that devastated Guihulngan and other northern towns in Negros Oriental on Monday.
The relief goods, which came from the provincial government, were in plastic bags bearing the name of Gov. Roel Degamo.
Provincial officials were quick to explain that the name of the governor on the relief goods was only for “information purposes” so the people would be reminded that the incumbent governor was Degamo and not his two predecessors who died in 2010 and 2011.
Tan, 35, a native of Guihulngan who works for a pharmaceutical firm in Cebu, said the relief goods consisting of rice, sardines and noodles were placed in two plastic bags for each recipient.
The first plastic bag had a sticker with what looked like lyrics of a jingle written in Cebuano, promoting Degamo. The second plastic bag had another sticker that read: “DSWD Magdegamo rescue.”
“I immediately took photos. Ingon ana nga kalamidad, nangampanya pa (In a calamity such as this, they still campaigned),” he told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Saturday.
But provincial officials swiftly denied that they were using the tragedy to campaign for the 2013 elections.
Negros Oriental Provincial Administrator Arnel Francisco on Friday clarified that the name of Degamo appeared on the relief goods distributed by the provincial government for “information purposes” only and not for anything else.
Francisco said that informing the public of the name of the provincial executive was necessary because there were people who still did not know his name.
“We still get letters addressed to Gov. Emilio Macias II or Gov. Agustin Perdices,” he said.
Gov. Emilio Macias II succumbed to liver cancer on June 13, 2010, before he could take his oath as the reelected governor of Negros Oriental.
His replacement, Gov. Agustin Perdices, held the post for barely seven months. He, too, passed away due to stomach cancer on Jan. 6, 2011. Thus, Roel Degamo, who was elected as the number-one member of the provincial board, assumed the governorship.
Degamo adopted most of the programs started by his predecessors but changed the “Basta Negor” slogan of Governor Macias and the “Kasaligan” slogan of Governor Perdices to “MagDegamo ta!” which literally means “Let’s prepare for a meal.”
Sought for comment, Degamo said the province used to give unmarked relief packs during calamities.
“Weeks after Tropical Storm ‘Sendong’ hit the province, we visited some previously flooded areas where a priest was heard to remark, ‘Karon pa ni-anhi si governor nga nimala na ang baha (Is this the first time the governor visits us, now that the flood has subsided)?’” Degamo said.
“We are doing this to assure the public that the government is not sleeping. We are doing our job,” Degamo said.
